Jason Peterson's daughter promises to get him justice, echoes calls to defund police

When Jason Peterson was living his final moments, his daughter Mackenzie says she was right by his side — and she made him a promise.

"He was on his deathbed, and I promised him I was going to stay strong for him and I'm going to fight for him, I'm going to get justice for him, and I can't break that promise now," she told CBC News.

"That's what's keeping me together ... I feel like he's with me all the time now. He's watching over me. He wants to see the justice."

With a handful of family members behind her, all wearing Justice for Jay shirts, Mackenzie stood in front of Hamilton's city hall at 9 a.m. on Thursday to speak about her father. He died after police shot him two weeks ago.

The 18-year-old's father was in a convenience store parking lot at Cannon Street East and Gage Avenue North on July 7.

Police initially said they were responding to a call about an active domestic incident when they saw Jason, 42, with a firearm in a vehicle.

Mackenzie and her lawyer, Wade Poziomka, declined to comment on the domestic incident, saying it is a lot of "what we're in the dark about."

Ontario's Special Investigations Unit (SIU), which is now investigating Peterson's death, says police approached the vehicle and two officers fired their guns at Peterson after "an interaction."

Mackenzie said he was shot twice — once in the arm and once in the back of the head.

"Aren't police trained to not kill? Aren't they trained to serve and protect? If that is true, why was he shot in the back of the head? Why was pulling their guns their first option when they had many other ways to detain him?" 

"When you're shot in the back of the head, there's no saving you. They were shooting to kill, I feel like."

Jason's mother, Lucy, stood beside Mackenzie throughout. She too was furious about the gunshot to the back of the head, wondering why police couldn't hit another body part like his shoulder.

Jason was taken to hospital in critical condition and died a day later.

The SIU says it recovered the two police-issued guns and a shotgun.

The two officers who pulled their triggers are the subjects of the investigation, and four other officers have been interviewed as witnesses.

Family calling to defund police

Mackenzie said money from the police service should be allocated to community groups who may be better suited to respond to various calls for service. She also said officers need better training, more oversight and demilitarization. Local Black Lives Matter activists in attendance supported her.

"We can't get our questions answered. We don't know what's going on ... and it's my own father," Mackenzie told media.

"If it was a regular civilian that killed my father, I would know everything about what happened, but because the person who did this wears a badge, I don't know any details."

Wade Poziomka, a partner and human rights lawyer from Ross & McBride LLP, is leading a legal team representing the family. He said they are exploring their legal options.

"An individual getting shot in the back of the head, from my perspective, should never happen," he told CBC News.

The ultimate goal, Poziomka explained, is to get justice for any wrongdoing by police and to prevent similar incidents.

Peterson had two daughters

Jason's cousins, Melissa Abbott and Leanne Johnson, described him as bubbly and fun to be around.

He was especially close to his brother.

Mackenzie's hand trembled as she held her script. Family members behind her were visibly distraught, with pain etched into their faces. Mackenzie's eyes filled with tears, but none fell as she spoke.

She kept her composure as she remembered how she and her sister loved camping trips with their father.

And while her father is gone now, Mackenzie feels closer to him than ever.

"My dad was a strong person," she said. "I got that from him."

"I was a daddy's girl, always have been ... You would never expect anything to happen to someone like that. That's what hurts the most."